JUNE 2011 - MY FIRST ARTICLE ABOUT AYN

This is archived piece that I wrote shortly after Ayn Van Dyk was removed from her father in June 2011. There were 1000 hits to this post back then. She is still in foster care. This should be over by now. She should be home. But read and learn how this began. All of the info in this post dates back to the date of publication. A court appearance is scheduled now for February 2014.

Derek Hoare has three children and all three lived with him until ……… Well, wait until you hear this.

Photo by John Van Putten shows Derek with Ayn 

Did your child ever go missing for a few minutes, for an hour or so? And were you desperate to find the child. Did you contact the police? And when you found the child weren’t you ecstatic and so grateful? So was Derek. But his joy didn’t last long.

MOMMIE'S LATEST REPORT ON HER VISITS WITH AYN

Amie Van Dyk, Ayn's mom sees her regularly now and her recent March 24th update is an encouraging one. Ayn is the ten year old girl who was taken from her father's care in June 2011 and still remains the custody and care of the Ministry of Children in B.C. She is a girl with autism. YOU WILL WANT TO HEAR WHAT HER MOM SAYS SO PLEASE READ ON.

THREE TIMES THE LOVE

I have admired Derek Hoare serving the needs of two children with autism in his family of three children. It can be done. And if the Ministry of Children in B.C. has any doubt or if it requires a 101 refresher then I am recommending a book entitled, ‘Three Times the Love.”

Three Times the Love, by Lynn and Randy Gaston, is a memoir, written in Lynn's voice, chronicling the first few years of raising their triplets with autism.

AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs)

Autism – A Succinct Description

Autism is a complex developmental disability that causes problems with social interaction and communication.  Symptoms usually start before age three and can cause delays or problems in many different skills that develop from infancy to adulthood.

Autism – A Spectrum Disorder

Different people with autism can have very different symptoms.  Health care providers think of autism as a “spectrum” disorder, a group of disorders with similar features.  One person may have mild symptoms, while another may have serious symptoms.  But they both have an autism spectrum disorder. The autism spectrum disorder includes (1) the autistic disorder known as autism, (2) Asperger Syndrome, and (3) Pervasive Developmental Disorder or atypical autism. Sometimes health

Providers are using the broader term, pervasive developmental disorder, to describe autism. In that case this category (PDD) includes the autism spectrum disorders as well as something called Childhood Disintegrative Disorder and Rett syndrome. In most material autism spectrum disorder and “autism” mean the same thing.

PAINFUL BULLETS OF FACT

Aime (mommy) and Ayn

On the day that Ayn was born in 2001 and Derek saw her for the first time, his heart was hers.

On June 16, 2011 Derek Hoare experienced the unthinkable shock of learning that his nine year old daughter Ayn had been removed from her school by the Ministry of Children and Family Services (MCFD).

He is not accused of harming her. In fact his life has been dedicated to nurturing and understanding her. Ayn is autistic.

Derek was informed that the action to remove his daughter from his care was designed to ease his load of responsibility but in fact it created an intolerable burden.

SHE IS JUST A LITTLE DISABLED GIRL, WHO WANTS TO LIVE LIFE

THE STORY OF AYN VAN DYK

As told by her father Derek Hoare

Part Eleven of Fifteen

SHE IS JUST A LITTLE DISABLED GIRL, 

WHO WANTS TO LIVE LIFE

October 27-28, 2011

All fifteen parts are Derek's own words written in 2011. He has been silent a long while now. This month of April marks the tenth month that Ayn has been in government custody. 
October 27

"Wow what a busy day; tons of details to sort out, Wyatt is ill, Lori Pynn just blew me away, and I just got back from grabbing Lou from the bus stop.... ahhh parenting :) Funny y'know because we immerse ourselves in our kids' lives and face one challenge after the next, each with their own set of tribulations and rewards. To have others look in on your life and take no time to understand where you have come from and where you are going on that journey that we call Family, and then based on those ignorant assumptions impose upon you what they perceive is "best" is an absolutely outlandish sense of justice. It is both scary and dismaying to think that I wasn't the first to go through this and will not be the last. It seems so critical that people wake up to this reality of a system so misguided it has rendered itself to be the very aggressor it was meant to protect us from."

THIS WAS COURT DAY

THE STORY OF AYN VAN DYK

As told by her father Derek Hoare

Part Ten of Fifteen

THIS WAS COURT DAY

October 18-19, 2011

Oct 18

Arg!!! having a hard time getting myself to remember to sit down and write these on time... I'm bad. I will set an alarm in my phone to remind me; 11:30 pm.

So this was court day, much anticipated though I was working off the assumption that it was pointless... an accurate assumption it turns out. I kept Lyric home today with the faint hope that there could be a move to return. But my understanding was that if I refused to consent to their request to a 90 day temporary custody that a case conference would be ordered to see if the two sides could come together avoiding a distant and lengthy trial.

I arrived and saw no-one there I knew... Amie hadn't arrived yet, my lawyer was nowhere in sight, nor Amie's... nobody. After entering the courthouse two group members arrived and we headed into the courtroom. I saw Amie's lawyer and MCFD's lawyer as well as the SW... Still no sign of my lawyer. The hearing lasted about 10 seconds.... I did get to speak my first "word" ever in court... "Ya", when asked if it was me who was present. Surreal first word and over many months in!

THE EDUCATION OF AUTISTIC CHILDREN

 by Ray Ferris

author of the book “The Art of Child Protection.”

You can purchase it from him by writing to rtferris@telus.net

Ray Ferris receiving the Justice Award

As I have stated before, there is no shortage of experts who can define autism, bipolar disorder, attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity and on and on. There is no shortage of experts who can tell us confidently just what we should be doing with all these children and others and how much more of it we should be doing. There is just one little snag. There is a great shortage of results. If we look at the long haul, most autistic children are unable to manage independently as adults. We can spend all kinds of money on them and we can demand all sorts of things from the government, but for the most part we are describing process. Certainly all the people who work with autism and other difficult conditions are dedicated and sincere and they will usually see small gains here and there, because they must believe in what they are doing. However, most of these children will not be functioning normally by any stretch of the imagination even after years of effort.

Of course there are a few notable exceptions like Ms. Temple Grandin, who is a genius with animals, but they are few and far between. What do we really hope to accomplish with children like Ayn in a regular school setting. It takes two full time teaching assistants to manage her behaviour. Not only is she not getting an education, but she is probably a distraction for other children. Albert Einstein pointed out that it is irrational to do the same thing over and over again and expect the results to be different. He could have said stupid. He was thinking in the scientific context, but the same is true for society at large. Just as the biggest countries in the world cannot borrow their way out of debt, but they keep trying. The children’s ministry cannot solve non-administrative problems with administrative devices, but that is all they ever do. Freudian psychology claimed that people’s maladjustment could be fixed by the process of psycho-analysis. If it did not seem to be working, then there should be more of it. More sessions over more years. Never would they admit that the theory could be flawed. It was flawed of course, but two generations wasted their money on it before it was abandoned by the insurance companies.

With all the money that is spent on autistic programs, can the authorities define specific goals and targets that they hope to reach? If they can, I would like to hear about them, because all I see everywhere is couched in generalities. In school we expect children to learn to read and write, to do arithmetic and to learn about the world of science and humanity. Children who cannot learn to read and write cannot participate in many important ways. Do such children really belong in a normal classroom situation? If all we can hope to do is to contain and manage behaviour, should we be doing this at the expense of other children. Many types of children, such as those with Down syndrome, can be trained and they can learn to manage their own behaviour. But many autistic children cannot. What are we hoping to do with them? Can anyone enlighten me?

Later this week, I hope to write about the function of the protection system with special needs children. When is it appropriate for the state to take over parenting for them and when it is not? Ray Ferris

Ray Ferris is an occasional GPS post writer. Retired now, Ray speaks from 31 years in child welfare and protection as a social worker, district supervisor and family court coordinator. He cannot tolerate injustice imposed upon families by ineffectual case work.

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CAN WE REALLY RELY ON A DIAGNOSIS OF AUTISM?

 by Ray Ferris

author of the book “The Art of Child Protection.”

You can purchase it from him by writing to rtferris@telus.net

Ray Ferris receiving Justice Award

"A few days ago the local newspaper reported that in the USA, between 2001 and 2011, the incidence of diagnosed autism increased by 20% and during the same period, the diagnosis of bipolar disorder rose by 40%. During the same week it was reported in the British paper “The Guardian” that there had been an alarming increase in the administering of psychotropic medications to young children. There was no doubt that anti-psychotic medicine was being given quite inappropriately in many cases.